Christianity as Enduring and Personal Faith, Essay Example

What do you see as the three most essential components of Christian theology?

While no single component of Christian theology may be seen as more vital than any other, that which has the strongest resonance for me is prayer, and prayer as both expression of faith and interaction with God.  To begin with, and not unexpectedly, there is no prayer without faith, which is as well an active principle; it drives the Christian to live and behave as God ordains (Migliore 9).  Engaged in prayer, either in individual and private communion with God or in the church setting, faith is inherently expressed. The act – and it is an act – exists as an affirmation of belief.  Prayer also, however, goes beyond this because it involves the importance of inquiry.  Christian faith itself, in fact, is virtually synonymous with the desire to know more of God’s will and intentions, as expressed by Augustine: “I believe in order that I may understand” (Migliore 3).  Prayer is the means by which deeper understanding comes, and there can be no more direct connection between us and God.  Silent and conducted at odd moments of the day, spoken in a vast assembly of Christians in the church setting, or part of a strict and private routine, prayer  is how we literally communicate with God, and this is then a vastly important component of Christianity.

It is also essential that faith be expanded, in a sense, and serve as another component to Christianity: the acceptance of Christ as both human and divine.  In my opinion, in fact, this is a precept absolutely necessary for faith to exist, and one completely as active as prayer.  It is the “living” sense of the foundation of Christianity, and I find that a consistent awareness of it enhances my own sense of actually being Christian.  God and Christ are of course distinct in the theology, as the journey of Christ on Earth both reflected and defied His father’s will, and brought humanity once more to God.  “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand” (Romans 1-8:30).  What is paramount here is that Christ lived, and lives, as a mortal man because only this can bind humanity to the divine, and only the divine is able to assume this dual reality of being. This divine quality or essence of Christ, moreover, broadens the scope of His human presence because Christ then exists for all time.  He is the past, present, and future of all humanity (Cone 120).  This component of the faith is essential because it brings clarity.   Other theologies have human prophets touched by the divine, as does Christianity itself, who remain mortal.   It is necessary, however, that the essence of God be translated to us, and this may occur only through His son’s assuming the weak, human form of us, and thus leading us to understand how we as mortals may be as God desires us to be.  Moreover, this component both reflects and reinforces the element of Christian faith itself because Christ’s assumption of a human identity emphasizes humanity as God’s most cherished creation.

Lastly, I firmly believe that the church is as essential a component within Christianity as prayer and the understanding of Christ as human and divine.  By “church,” I refer to the aspect of theological culture, rather than the houses of worship themselves important to maintaining the faith.  The church is far more than a vast, organizational hierarchy or a series of many houses; it is the fundamental collective of Christians living as Christians, and I myself speak of “being in the church” as a way of relating my faith.  To be of the church is synonymous with embracing all aspects of Christianity, and with accepting them as the guiding precepts of life on Earth.  Then, there is the profound element of community it provides, which is experienced in ways going far beyond literal gatherings. As Pope Francis expressed to Jesuit Antonio Spadaro,“’And the church is the people of God on the journey through history, with joys and sorrows’” (Spadaro).  As a Christian, being a part of the church then places me among all those of the past and today who share this powerful conviction in the truth of God.  As the faith is so widespread and historically established, we have limitless opportunities to express and live these values in houses of worship.  Nonetheless, the greater import lies outside of any literal platform or arena.  The church is the cohesive identity of who we are as Christians, and is consequently a crucial element in our choice to retain the faith.

Is today’s Christian church really a “church for the poor”? Why or why not?

It is difficult at best to determine whether today’s church truly comprehends the needs and realities of the poor.  On one level alone, this is a church existing in a variety of denominations, and with these presences in place in nations and societies worldwide.  This in itself then goes to the complex relationships some Christian churches have with their surrounding cultures, and how societies enable or restrict church efforts for the poor.  Then, there is a history equally difficult to avoid, and largely connected with the Catholic Church.  In general terms, Catholicism has long been seen as more concerned with the accumulation of wealth and power for itself, rather than in representing the divine injunction that the poor are in fact beloved of God.  For many, this is a Church that has shamefully defied or ignored its true purpose, and supported arguments that Christianity has rarely, in fact, been genuinely considerate of the poor.  This aside, however, there remains that immense difficulty of noting how the Christian church responds to the poor when so many churches exist in so many different arenas.  These factors combine to at least suggest that, in general, the Christian church does not advocate for the poor, certainly in that the church is not widely recognized as making a significant impact on their lives. It is in fact often seen as offering only comfort as compensation.

At the same time, it is possible to argue that the Christian church is, and always has been, very much concerned with the poor.  On a pragmatic level, the abuses of the Catholic Church in the past, in which officials of the Church enjoyed wealth and privileges denied to the people, are largely irrelevant or non-existent in modern societies.  Then, criticism alone has generated change, and at the highest levels of Catholic authority.  Speaking of the need for the church to change and better reflect the needs of today’s Christians, Pope Francis insists on the importance of its leaders to practice discernment, and comprehend the realities, such as poverty, creating suffering and issues (Spadaro).  This is a Christian church increasingly committed to addressing social circumstances, so it is one likely making efforts to help the poor.  Then, and on another level, the church may be emphatically said to exist for the poor, today as well as in the past.  It must be remembered that a Christian church exists beyond ministers, priests, and officials; it is composed of the people, and this reality then creates as much assistance as those Christians themselves commit to offer.  Put another way, it is unreasonable to accuse the church of neglecting the poor, when the church is very much an expression of the society itself.  This being the case, care for the poor must be in place as Christian inspiration interacts with social reality: “The church can empower human beings and communities to resist the evils and suffering within and without the church” (Farley 130).

Then, there is the power of the church in, not pragmatically serving the needs of the poor, but in emphasizing the spiritual truths far more important than material concerns.  This is no evasion of a responsibility because it goes to the heart of Christianity itself and imparts the most central precepts of the faith. Crucially, Christ represents the direct and divine sensibility exalting the poor, as Christ Himself walked the world as a poor man (Migliore 52).  His message to humanity, again and again, holds to esteeming only that which is important, which is to do the will of God.  Certainly, the church that ignores starvation and offers only spiritual guidance to those literally hungry is refuting God’s will.  Nonetheless, “poor” itself is a relative, if not meaningless, word when real Christianity is embraced.  God dismisses wealth and scorns the human esteem of it, and this reinforces the urgency of humanity recognizing the worthlessness of material pursuits or possessions.  The poor man or woman, then, is given by the church the more true sight, and the understanding of what has real worth: God’s love.  To be poor in the literal sense then is unimportant, and it cannot be overstated that this goes to the core of Christianity itself.  In providing this message, comfort, and actual reality, then, the church of today does indeed serve the poor.

Works Cited

Cone, James H. “Who Is Jesus Christ for Us Today?” God of the Oppressed.  New York: Seabury, 1975. 106-26. Print.

Farley, Wendy.  Tragic Vision and Divine Compassion: A Contemporary Theodicy. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990.  Print.

Migliore, Daniel L. “The New Community.” Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, Third Ed.  Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmanns Publishing Co., 248-73. Print.

“Oremus Bible Browser : Romans 1-8:30.” Oremus Bible Browser : Romans 1-8:30. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014

Spadaro, Antonio. “A Big Heart Open to God.” America Magazine. N.p., 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.